The Rules for Parking in Monrovia Are a-Changin’

Residents living on the streets highlighted in this map were required to obtain overnight parking permits. – Courtesy photo / City of Monrovia

By Susan Motander

Monrovia Police Chief Alan Sanvictores appeared before the City Council on Tuesday evening to request two changes to the City Ordinances regarding parking. The council first dealt with overnight parking of recreational vehicles (RVs) and second with permit requirements for specific areas of the city.

Sanvictores explained that the city had previously not regulated overnight parking of RVs, but requested that the council adopt such a measure. He said the calls for service regarding such vehicles parking overnight had more than doubled in the past year. He also said that the majority of cities in the area had some sort of permit parking for RVs parking overnight.

The regulation enacted by the council allows RV parking on city streets but only with a parking permit. These permits will fall into two categories. “Resident Permits” will be available to residents who are registered owners of such RVs. The cost is $5 per day, and the permits are valid for up to three days. Only one such RV permit can be obtained for each address in the city.

Non-residents can obtain “RV Guest Permits.” Such permits will also cost $5 per day, but guest permits can only be obtained for no more than six calendar days in a one-month period of time. The request for the permit also requires the signature of the city resident/property owner who agrees to the terms of conditions of the permit on their guest’s behalf. Parking for such guests will be restricted to the same block as the resident/property owner who applies for the permit on behalf of the guest.

After the council approved the permitting process, Mayor Tom Adams requested that the police give educational warnings to those violating the ordinance before issuing citations. Sanvictores assured the council this was the intention of the police department.

The second parking related issue dealt with removing the requirement for overnight parking permits in a small section of the city. In the 1990s the area south of Huntington Drive and north of the 210 Freeway between Primrose and Shamrock avenues had a major crime problem including violent crimes. The parking permit program was put in place to restrict the ability of non-residents to park overnight in the area to restrict access.

Sanvictores told the council that local residents spoke loudly against the permit program at a community meeting in late June. As Sanvictores pointed out to the council, through a collaborative effort between the residents and the city this part of the community had changed the area.

“We have successfully taken back those streets,” the chief said. He noted that this was possible because of the efforts of the residents through such programs as the Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) and Neighborhood Watch combined with the efforts of the police department through its Community Activist Policing program.

As a result of the changes in the neighborhood, Sanvictores recommended removing the overnight permitting program. The council agreed and removed the permit program for the area.